July 20, 2017 Day 16 Delray Beach, FL

We were actually up and ready to leave for the beach with sunscreen on and everything, but then we checked on the sheets we were washing and realized they didn’t quite get through the spin cycle. So we are sitting in the dark, ready to go waiting on the washer to finish. All the laundry needs to be done today in preparation for leaving early tomorrow morning. Scott was up early sweeping the roof while I cooked some chocolate chip pancakes. We started and ended the day with chocolate.

Last day on the beach. Thankfully we did get an early start, well, early for us at least. We arrived at the beach at 10:30 and by 12:30 most of the beach had cleared out due to a heavy thunderstorm. When Scott went to the lifeguard to ask about camping on the the beach in Florida, the lifeguard mentioned to Scott, “You know the beach is closed, right?” Scott pointed to the sign and asked, “As long as we are beyond the point where you lifeguard, we are fine, right?” We stayed about another twenty minutes, but the storms kept rolling in despite lulls in the thunder and downpour.

Cody set right to creating a “mud” wall and swimming pool that he could look for shells in. Scott and Brooke hung back and read.

Brooke started a book last night. Once she starts a book it is hard to get her to stop.

Once Cody tired of digging in the water he headed to the dry part of the beach to look for shells. It was hot though, so hot the sand would burn your feet as you walked. After a few minutes of looking for shells we headed out into the ocean. We stayed out there swaying with the waves until the clouds almost covered the sun. I was hoping to dry a little before the sun disappeared. That was the last we would be in the ocean. Not long after the thunder rolled in and the lifeguard pulled everyone out and off the beach.

While we were swimming Scott was hanging out in his hammock further away in the trees. Someone shared a hermit crab with him. We huddled under the umbrella for a while thinking the storm would blow over like they usually do. While we were waiting it out, there was a mass exodus from the beach.

There were couples on either side of us also waiting out the storm, at least for a little while. The one couple with the red umbrella played some Elvis and snuggled closer as the storm danced on. Brooke drew in the sand with the shovel when the rain would let up a bit. Cody snuggled with me since we were both shivering.

We still weren’t ready to leave the beach, but everyone else had left, including the cute Elvis couple and another set of clouds and lightning strikes had rolled in. We took some last minute pictures and thought about how thankful we were to have had all the time we had already had. Our first beach vacation ever.

The kids made a fort and kept themselves busy for hours. They wisely stayed out of sight so they didn’t accidentally get swept up into the cleaning and laundry. We made a bacon wrapped pork tenderloin and noodles for dinner. Scott made chocolate chip cookies for dessert and plenty of extra for the drive home.

Brooke had wanted to play chess every single day we were here. She reminded us it was our last chance to play and so we did. The first game of Brooke and Scott against me was over in less than ten moves. Brooke had asked us to teach her how to play chess, so the second game Scott offered advice, but let her take the reigns. I wanted to keep the game light and fun because Brooke gets very serious about anything she does. Right at this point in the game Brooke was stressing and over analyzing every move and concerned about my knight being nose to nose with hers. I told her he was only so close because he wanted to nuzzle noses. As you can see, she was incredibly focused. She did well, won, and the house went to sleep happy. I tucked the kids in, finished up some laundry, and caught a few minutes of a movie with Scott before we fell asleep for our last night in Casa Delray.